


Speak Politely to an enraged Dragon

by Neko_Erza



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-03-26 15:53:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3856366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_Erza/pseuds/Neko_Erza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's very rare that a dragon's mate rejects his/her partner, but when it happens it's bound to end disastrous for the rejecting mate. It's mating season, which leaves Natsu restless. He avoids every possible woman by going on a trip with Gray. To his surprise though, it turns out the latter is his fated partner, but when he gets rejected, an uncontrollable fury takes over his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dragon Mating Season

I have to warn you guys, since this one will be pretty dark; angst, violence, rape... know what to expect! I do hope you like it though. 

The sentence I used as the title is from J.R.R Tolkien and I thought it would fit the story well.

* * *

**Chapter I**

**Dragon mating season**

By Neko Erza

* * *

" _Natsu, pay attention! This is very important." Igneel roared as the pinkette got distracted by a fleeing rabbit. The little boy quickly sat down again before his foster father._

" _Why do I need to know this stuff, Igneel?" Natsu pouted as he would rather play with the rabbit than quietly sit down and listen._

" _It will be very important and you're old enough to know now." The dragon said with a strict voice as he lay down again. "Mating season is something very special and important for dragon."_

" _But I'm not a real dragon." The boy said with a questioningly look on his face._

" _It's equally important for a person with dragon slayer magic, my boy. Maybe even more, since the chance is big your mate won't be a dragonslayer, which will make it more difficult."_

" _What do you mean?" The boy asked as he scooted a little closer to his parent._

" _They won't understand the rollercoaster of emotions and impulses that will run through your body when it's the season. Although our mates are a choice of fate, so the love will be mutual. The stars choose for us." The dragon added the last part with a smile._

" _The stars? It sounds too complicated. I don't want to mate with someone." Natsu said with a tiny blush on his cheeks._

_The dragon let out a deep roaring chuckle. "You say that now, but finding your mate will probably be the most important thing you will ever do."_

" _But how will I know who is my mate, will they know and tell me?" The little pinkette climbed up his father's paw, cuddling against his warm body._

" _No, they won't know it or tell you. During the mating season our body will go into a state of utter response to our mate. The moment your flesh touches theirs will ignite a flood of emotion within you and you'll instantly know it's your mate. Things might be a bit easier, since it's possible that if you already knew her, you'd already be in love." The dragon smiled to the small boy cradled against him._

" _Will they be in love?"_

" _They might already be in love with you, yes." Igneel said with an encouraging smile. Natsu thought about it for a second, this way mating season didn't sound that bad at all._

" _It doesn't sound that bad anymore…" The boy said with a small smile. Suddenly another question popped up in his head. "Will she feel something? I mean, I'll know when the emotions and spark will tell me, but how will my mate experience it?"_

" _Good question. Your mate will love you back and will respond with their own set of emotions. It won't be the same thing as yours, but it's similar. They will also temporarily lose their physical strength and I've heard that when a dragon slayer's mate is also a mage, they won't be able to use magic against you during the season."_

" _That's weird." Natsu mumbled._

" _It's probably to prevent accidents. But it will also be an indicator that she is your mate indeed." The dragon chuckled._

" _How long is the season?"_

" _It's about two weeks. But once you've encountered your mate and marked them as such, the influence of the "Now, I think it's time for you to go to sleep."_

_The dragon carefully rubbed his big cheek against the boy's head and Natsu cuddled closer, getting ready to sleep. After a minute of silence the boy turned his head up again and whispered._

" _Igneel?"_

" _Yes, Natsu?"_

_The boy kept silent for another few seconds, thinking of what was bothering him. "What if my mate doesn't love me back?"_

_Igneel thought about it for a second. It was very rare for mates to not fall in love with the dragon or slayer, in his long life he had only seen it once and heard of it from someone else. And from both experiences the rejecting mate's mental state was damaged and body was badly wounded since the one who activated the mating went mad with sadness and fury. These emotions pushed the dragon into a rage which could only be ended with the blood of their unwilling counterpart. Telling this news to the young boy would give him an aversion of the season. "It's very, very rare for a mate to not have mutual love, so you shouldn't worry about it."_

_The little boy thought about it for a second, but decided to not ask further. He nuzzled back onto the warm dragon skin and closed his eyes waiting for sleep to wash over him._

_Everything went silent around them, only a lonely owl cried out from the nearby woods. Igneel looked at the peaceful sleeping face of his adoptive son and smiled, but it vanished pretty fast again. The dragon looked up at the dark sky and the twinkling stars._

" _Please keep this boy safe. His inner flame of emotion is the biggest one I've experienced in my long life and he deserves a good mate. He would do anything for the one he loves and that person would be loved for rest of eternity." Igneel prayed to the stars. "If this boy were to be rejected by his true love, that flame of emotion could very well end up as an inferno of rage and anger." He paused for a second and thought about the strong feelings the little pinkette already showed at this age. "If Natsu isn't accepted by his fated partner… I dread for the mate's life."_

_The dragon stared at the stars a bit longer, as if waiting of hoping for some kind of sign. After a few moments the dragon lay down and closed his eyes._

_In his arm the small boy who was supposed to be sleeping, was very much awake. The last few minutes that weren't meant for his ears made the uncertainty he had about mating season return with full force._

* * *

Natsu opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. The dream returned every year and it always left him with an uneasy feeling. It actually was a memory of one of the last days he had spent with his father and it made the missing only worse.

The dream always plagued him on the first night of dragon mating season, and with it the uncertainty of finding a mate came all back again. So ever since he had felt the mating ritual kick in a few years back, he always ran for it during the two week mating season. He would spend the two weeks going out on a trip or a mission with Happy, avoiding every female as much as he could.

He let out a deep sigh and kicked the smothering covers off his body, waking Happy in the process. The little blue cat mumbled something about still being tired and curled up into a little ball again.

"Come on, Happy!" The dragon slayer said, a bit more cheerful now he was out of bed. "Let's go on a fishing trip, just the two of us."

The cat sleepily looked up and blinked a few times and let out a big yawn. "Natsu, I told you already, I'm going on a trip with Carla and Wendy."

Natsu's fragile cheerfulness vanished immediately. "Oh, right."

"Why don't you go with Lucy?" Happy asked as he lay back down.

Natsu didn't tell Happy that the whole trip was to get away from the women. "You know how she reacts to fish; she thinks they're 'icky'. She always freaks out."

When he didn't get a response from the little cat, he looked around and saw he had already fallen back to sleep. Natsu let out an annoyed sigh. He had anticipated on leaving with Happy, so he didn't have a backup plan. His other option was to go on a solo mission, but that meant going to the guild, risking the chance that he'd touch one of the girls and he didn't want to risk being mated.

"Just a quick visit to see if there are any good missions." He whispered to himself before he grabbed his scarf and tugged it on.

* * *

He took a quick glance around the doors of the guild, but saw that there weren't that many people this early. He saw Cana sitting at a table with Macao and Wakaba, but she was already busy emptying a beer barrel to notice him. From behind the counter Mira waved and smiled at him but she was busy serving customers. On a nearby table sat Gray with Bixlow and Loke. The tree men raised their hands as a greeting, Bixlow adding his typical tongue-rolling action.

Natsu quickly went to the request board and scanned through the missions. After a long search Natsu had to admit defeat since there weren't any suitable jobs. Most were too big to go alone, needed a long train ride or weren't fitted for his magic.

"What's up, flame brain?" Gray greeted as he casually strolled Natsu's way. In the short time it took to get from the table to the request board the ice mage had lost his coat. "Looking for a job?"

"Gee, what made you think that? Since I'm standing before the  _job_  requests?" The dragon slayer sarcastically answered.

"Someone's in a good mood." Gray mumbled equally sarcastic. "I just wanted to say the team isn't complete. Erza and Lucy left for one last night. And isn't Happy going on a trip with Wendy?"

"Yeah, I know, but I need some time off." The pinkette sighed.

"Ah, I looked on the board earlier, but as far as I read there isn't really a relaxing one on there." Gray tapped his finger against the board.

"Yeah, I saw. I actually planned to go fishing with Happy, but that's not going to happen now."

"Well, good luck with it, flame brain." The ice mage started to walk off again.

Natsu looked at the requests one last time, then walked after the raven. "Oi, stripper. Why don't you go on a fishing trip with me?"

"Like hell."

"Oh come on, I don't want to go alone." Natsu said annoyed. He didn't want to spend time around Magnolia, where the chance of running into women was way too big and other than Gray, Natsu wouldn't know who to ask. And for some reason the thought of going on a trip with the ice mage seemed really enjoyable.

"Nope."

"I was planning to go to the Mountain Hakobe lake." Natsu said, knowing the raven loved the place. Gray stopped and looked back.

"Hakobe Lake?"

"Yup."

The raven thought about it for a second and decided it would be a great opportunity to go to the place again. He hadn't been there in ages. "It is a great fishing spot indeed."

"So you're coming?"

"Yeah, yeah." The raven sighed, not understanding why he'd agreed on a trip with the dragon slayer. "When do you want to leave?"

"Today. I'll go grab my stuff and meet you here at the guild in an hour, okay?"

* * *

A few hours later the two mages sat by the lake, their fishing rods lazily swung out before them. The lake is located at the base of the snowy mountain, so every once in a while there was a chilly breeze that passed by, neither of them were bothered by it though. Gray had even lost his shirt again.

"I'll have to admit, I'm glad I did come with you, Natsu." The ice mage mentioned after a while. "This really is a nice spot."

"I know. Happy and I come here a few times a year; he says the fish here taste the best." The dragon slayer chuckled. Just then Natsu felt a light tug on his fishing rod, so he quickly sat up and tried to haul the fish in. Just before Natsu could pull it on shore, the fish freed himself from the hook and swam off with the bait. "Dammit."

Gray chuckled. "We won't be tasting the fish if you keep doing that."

"Shut up, like you're such an amazing fisher, perverted stripper."

"I'm not saying that. But at least I did catch one already, matchstick." The ice mage pointed to a frozen fish a few meters away.

"That was pure luck." Natsu mumbled annoyed, Gray chuckled but didn't bother to drag the arguing any further, since that would only end up in one of their usual fights.

The two remained in silence a bit longer, listening to the rustling sounds of the trees and lake. The raven mage leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes, enjoying the cool breeze fondling his skin. The pinkette pulled up his legs and rested his chin on his knees, a bit tired of the restless night due to the dream. Only remembering it brought back an uneasy feeling and the warm feeling in his stomach that he always felt during the season. He tried to ignore it, which mostly did the trick to forget it. This time though the more he tried to ignore it the harder the warmth in his body welled up. He shifted his body so his forehead rested against his knees and he closed his eyes. He could feel every vein in his head throb, making it hard to think clear.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Gray's voice sounded beside the dragon slayer a few minutes later.

Natsu snapped his head up and looked at the ice mage. He hadn't noticed that his body was covered with a thin sheen of sweat and his breathing had become ragged. His eyes had trouble focusing on the raven beside him, so he blinked a couple of times to get the blur away.

"Hey, are you okay?" Gray asked again, sitting up from his leaning position.

Finally Natsu's head became a little clearer again and he slowly nodded. "Uh… Yeah, I'm fine."

The raven raised an eyebrow as he looked at the dragon slayer with a doubting look. "You sure didn't look like it."

"Well, I am now." Natsu grunted, brushing away the few sweat drops on his face. He could still feel Gray's eyes on him, which gave him an uneasy feeling. He turned around and yelled. "I'm fine!"

"Okay, okay, you're fine." Gray shook his head at the sudden outburst. He leaned back against the tree and adjusted his fishing rod. He had a gloomy expression on his face.

Natsu looked at him and felt a spike of guilt, the ice mage had looked genuinely concerned. The pinkette took a few deep breaths, clearing his mind. "I'm sorry."

Gray looked at him with a blank expression. "It's okay."

"You're pissed."

"I'm always pissed when you're around." Gray said with a cocky grin. Natsu had to chuckle at that comment and all the tenseness between them vanished. "You did look jumpy all day."

"Hmm…" Natsu just hummed. He hadn't expected anyone to notice it, but the effects of the season were too hard to hide sometimes.

"Care to tell me why?" Gray asked, wondering why his teammate who never seemed to have a care in the world behaved like this.

"It's just-" Natsu stopped, doubting if he should tell his rival or not. After a few seconds of pondering he decided it was best just to explain it, maybe he could even help with getting his mind off of things. "Dragon mating season started today."

"Dragon mating season? Are you serious?" The ice mage snickered with a surprised look on his face. "And you're affected by it too?"

"Yes. It's really annoying." The fire mage said with a grimace.

"So that's why you wanted to get out of the guild, so badly you even asked  _me_  to join you?" Gray asked, his crooked grin never leaving his face.

"Yes, even that badly." Natsu chuckled. Then his face got less joyful. "It's just that… I don't want to risk getting mated with one of the girls, so I avoid them."

"What? You mean you don't get to choose your own mate?" Gray asked surprised. He had to admit that he knew practically nothing about dragons or dragon slayers, let alone their mating habits.

"No. They are chosen by fate and the bond can't be broken." Natsu explained.

"Glad I'm not a dragon slayer. What if you end up with someone you don't even like?"

"The dragon slayer will always love their mate." Natsu whispered. "When we touch during mating season, all the emotions will well up in our bodies."

"And the mate?"

The question brought back all the uncertainty Natsu felt and he thought about what Igneel had prayed about. "The chance is big they are already in love if the slayer and them already know each other. But there's also a chance that they don't have mutual feelings."

"That must suck." Gray commented. Natsu was glad he didn't ask about the possible consequences for that mate. "This does explain why Gajeel left in a hurry yesterday and refused to take Levi with him." The ice mage said with a smile.

"Yeah, he'll probably feel it too."

"Although I think these two would make perfect mates." The ice mage continued. "What about Laxus? He's a second generation, right? Does he feel the influences of the mating season?"

"I have no idea to be honest." Natsu said, surprised that he had never wondered that himself.

"What about Wendy? Is it the same for female dragon slayers?" Gray asked, genuinely interested.

"I'm not sure, I'll ask her when she's a bit older. She's still too young to experience mating season, I think."

"I hope so, she is too young indeed." Gray nodded then chuckled. "Poor Doranbalt."

The ice mage looked at the dragon layer who sat about a meter and half away. He still looked a bit shaky, his body still gleaming with a small sheen of sweat.

"Say, Natsu. Why don't you go and find your mate? Gajeel too, he just left with Lilly."

Natsu thought about it for a second. "It's just… frightening I guess. Our mates are for life, so it's a big responsibility. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet."

"It does sound pretty serious."

The two went silent again. Natsu could still feel the annoying warmth in his body and wondered why it wouldn't just go away like it always did. About an hour passed like that, then Natsu felt a painful sting in his head.

"Ouch." He flinched as he grabbed his head. Gray immediately turned his way.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it happens often during the season." He said as he rubbed the pain away.

Gray crawled up from the ground and dusted some pieces of grass off his pants. Then he walked over to the dragon slayer.

"You seem awfully pale, you know."

"The first day of the season is the worst, tomorrow will normally be a lot better." The pinkette explained. Still the ice mage crouched before him and looked at his face.

"If it gets worse, I'm bringing you to a doctor."

"That's not necessary."

"Maybe you have a fever." Gray lifted his hand to feel his forehead.

"I'm the fire dragon slayer, I always have a fever." Natsu said annoyed as he smacked the hand away.

To his great surprise and shock, the minute their bodies touched a spike that felt like hot liquid shot from the spot where they had touched through his whole body. His whole vision went pale, except for the ice mage's face, which was clearer than ever. The lingering warmth he had felt before exploded and spread through his whole body, warming every last cell, feeling like his body was thrown into a blissful inferno.

Everything that wasn't Gray seemed to disappear for a few moments, his whole body filled with his being. Every possible emotion surged through his body; happiness, lust, angst, bliss, fear, confusion, anger, mischief, embarrassment, confidence and finally it stuck on one. Love. Pure and utter love for the being in front of him.

Gray had felt the shock too, which made him retract his hand quickly. The same pulse of heath went through his body, dizzying his head which was only used to cold. The flood of emotions Natsu had felt didn't occur inside the ice mage's body.

"Ouch, what the hell was that?" He asked surprised, then looked up at the dragon slayer. The latter was staring at him with big dilated eyes and his mouth opened in surprise. The look of the dragon slayer made him feel weird inside and he wondered what the hell that pulse had done to him.

Natsu shook his head as if to clear his mind then looked up at the ice mage again, who still crouched before him. He leaned in closer, which made Gray uncomfortable. The pinkette scanned his body from top to bottom. " _You_  are my mate."

Gray's eyes went big with surprise. "What? You're kidding."

"No!" Natsu said, grabbing Gray's hand with his. The touch made another pulse go through his body, caressing his very soul. "You are my mate, Gray!"

"But I'm a guy!" The raven rambled, getting extremely nervous. He tried to pull his hand away, but was stopped by Natsu's firm grip. Somehow he couldn't find the strength to pull it away, no matter how much he tried.

"I don't care you're a guy." Natsu said with a big smile on his face, not taking his eyes off of Gray for one second.

"We can't stand each other."

"That might have been the case, but now…" Natsu let his eyes roam over every inch of Gray's body, finally letting go of his hand.

Gray quickly stood up and walked away. "The season is just messing with your head, Natsu."

"No, it's not!" The dragon slayer yelled, suddenly feeling angry. "Gray, you're my mate."

The ice mage turned around and walked towards his stuff, ignoring the dragon slayer. He didn't understand one bit of what happened the last few minutes.

Natsu jumped up. "I love you, Gray!"

Gray's whole body froze. The words needed some time to sink in and they had a devastating impact. He slowly turned around and looked at the dragon slayer. He had trouble making the slightest sound, but finally managed to whisper.

"I don't love you."

Those few words crashed in on Natsu, like no fight had ever done. The blissful warmth that had surged through his body before slowly changed. Instead the warmth turned into a burning that felt like it would turn him to ashes from the inside out and for a second everything went black before his eyes. Grief and disbelieve started seeping into him, along an uncontrollable anger and fury that threatened to take over his whole being.

When Natsu opened his eyes again, Gray couldn't find any trace left of the Natsu he knew.

**End of chapter 1**

* * *

 

 


	2. No Use

**Chapter II**

**No use**

By Neko Erza

* * *

Lucy balanced on the narrow ledge of the canal with Plue in front of her, making her way to the guild. The men who are always sailing down the water road yelled out for her to be careful. The blonde waved at them, making clear she would.

"Ah Plue…" The girl sighed. "This is the last time I'm going on a mission with Erza alone!" She rubbed a sore spot on her back. "I don't think I'll survive another one."

"Pun-Puun!" The little spirit answered while he swayed around the ledge.

"Be careful now, Plue. I'm not diving into the water to save you, you know." Lucy tittered. She looked up and saw the building of the guild in the distance.

"I hope Mira has those lovely smoothies she made last week, I'd really love to have one right now. Might relax my sore body." She continued.

Plue leisurely hopped forward. "Pun-puun-pun."

A little while later the duo reached the building and Lucy closed the gate of the minor dog, letting the little guy rest a bit in the celestial realm. She entered the bar and sat down at the counter. A few seconds later the platinum-haired bartender skipped over and greeted her with one of her characteristic warm smiles.

"Hi, Lucy. Already back from your mission with Erza?" Mira asked with a small giggle as the blonde sat down with a pained face.

"Yes, one day is long enough for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to sit without pain again." Lucy answered with a small smile.

"But now you have enough money to pay the rent."

"Yes, that's one good point." The blonde mage looked around the guild, even though it was quite packed the place was fairly quiet. "It's so calm in here today, Mira-chan."

"Yes, there hasn't been one fight today, must be a new record." The bartender told.

The celestial mage laughed. "How come?"

"Most troublemakers are on missions. Happy left with Wendy and Carla. The Raijinshu are preparing for a mission and are leaving this afternoon. Gajeel has been gone since yesterday and Natsu and Gray went on a fishing-trip this morning." The bartender summed up.

"Gray and Natsu?" Lucy asked dumbstruck. But the fact that those two were gone was indeed an explanation for the calmness in the guild. "A fishing trip? Together?"

"Yes. It's exceptional indeed."

"How in the world did they get set up with each other?"

"Natsu seemed pretty tense, so I think he really needed some time out. He probably didn't want to go alone and since a lot of people were already on missions, he asked Gray. I think they said they went to Hakobe Lake and it's one of Gray's favorite spots."

"Natsu must have wanted a time out pretty bad and Gray must love that place a lot for them to go together." Lucy laughed as she thought of the rival duo. She didn't remember one day that went by without those two flying at each other's throat. But she also knew deep down inside the fire and ice mage actually cared for each other, although they would never admit to that.

"Maybe this trip will calm them down a little, so we don't have to rebuild the whole guild every other day." A light voice added. Lucy turned around and saw Levi sitting down next to her.

"Hey Levi-chan." Lucy smiled. She saw that the little bluenette had a slight depressed look on her face. "What's wrong?"

Levi angrily folded her arms before her chest before explaining. "Gajeel didn't want to take me with him on his mission! And I'm sure I could have been of much help."

"You're still angry about that? Gajeel left yesterday already." Mira chuckled, a devious gleam in her eyes. "You sure spend a lot of time with him already and you do missions together on regular basis. Is there something we should know, maybe?" The bartending girl teased.

Instantly a bright blush formed on the solid script mage's cheeks. "N-No, of course not! I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? Because every time Gajeel goes on a mission without you, you seem awfully gloomy. And he sure is present in a lot of your conversation material." Lucy added to the teasing, making the bluenette's cheeks burn even harder. Everybody knew the girl liked the iron dragon slayer and the fact that Levi was the only person (apart from Panther Lilly) Gajeel didn't snub was an indication he liked her too. They just didn't want to admit it.

"Y-you were talking about Gray and Natsu, weren't you?" Levi said.

Mira and Lucy chuckled at the girl's obvious attempt to change the subject, but decided to let the Gajeel-matter go. Lucy nodded and said. "Yeah, it's quite unbelievable that they went together."

"Maybe they are finally outgrowing all the rivalry and fighting?" Levi suggested.

"I don't think so, they are Fairy Tail mages after all, they never outgrow those things." Mira giggled.

"Yeah you're right I guess."

Lucy sighed as she thought about their missions together and all the destruction those two could cause just because they were on a roll or they were having fun. They couldn't go anywhere without those two insulting each other, fighting and breaking the whole place down. "I just hope they let anything whole of the forest. Gray might just freeze over the entire lake and it wouldn't surprise me if Natsu burned down the trees."

"That's a quite possible scenario." The blue haired mage had to admit. "Normally Erza is around to cool them down a bit or even Lucy, but now it's just them."

"Oh come on guys. Let them have some fun. It's just their odd way of playing and showing they care about each other deep down inside." Mirajane smiled.

"Playing? I don't see how fighting can be nice." Lucy sighed.

Mira smiled. "I'm sure they are having fun in their own way."

* * *

"N-Natsu?" Gray asked carefully when he saw the frightening look in the dragon slayer's eyes. Instantly a rush of fear went through his body when he saw those eyes. The pinkette clenched his hands into fists, trying to fight the burning feeling inside of him. The feeling of bliss he had felt a moment ago when he looked at the ice mage had completely vanished and was replaced with a rage that felt like acid running through his veins.

"You don't love me?" The dragon slayer yelled as he tried to suppress the spreading burning feeling. He took a step closer to the ice mage, who immediately took two steps back.

"Natsu, please calm down." The raven tried to sooth. "We've always been rivals. You've never even liked me and now you're telling we're mates? Life partners?" Gray tried to keep as calm as he could so that he wouldn't set off the pink haired man any more. Even though his voice sounded calm, his heart raced at double speed.

Natsu's body seemed to relax a little bit, but his fists stayed clenched. "That was before! We are mates, Gray." The man said with a desperate tone in his voice. "You must have felt all those things too when we touched! All those emotions."

The ice mage shook his head. "I didn't feel a thing."

"Yes, you did!" The pinkette yelled.

"Just calm down, so we can talk about this. You have to admit it's pretty unbelievable right? I'm not fit as your mate."

"You are! You're my soulmate, my partner, my reason to even fucking be here! I don't want to fucking talk!" The dragon slayer screamed, taking a step in Gray's direction. The ice mage immediately took a step back.

"Even if we're mates, Natsu, you aren't ready for this responsibility. You said so yourself earlier right?" The raven felt even more fear building up in his body. He just wanted to get out of here and get away from the man before him. His heart was about to beat out of his chest.

"Well I was wrong! I am ready!"

"You are obviously not ready!"

"We're mates, Gray. There's no fucking doubt about it! But you as my mate need to take responsibility too! You can't just fucking say that you don't love me!"

"I just did, didn't I? I don't love you!" The raven blurted out. As soon as the words left his mouth and he realized what he had just said, regret immediately washed over him. Instead of his heart beating even faster, it felt like it fell still, skipping its beats. "Natsu, I…"

If there had been any trace left of the Natsu he knew, that had now been crushed. Flames lid up around the pinkette's feet and his clenched hands. Every sane thought left his body and the burning took over.

His heart found its purpose again and sped up, almost vibrating through his chest, gushing adrenaline all through his body. He took some steps back, trying to create space between him and the dragon slayer. The latter let out a dark chuckle. "Trying to get away now, are ya Gray?

"Please, Natsu. Just calm down." The ice mage said while still stepping backwards.

The dragon slayer's eyes shot up and locked to Gray's. It looked like an all-consuming fire burned within them, waiting to break free. For the first time in 10 years a cold shiver ran over Gray's body, fear embedding in every cell of his body. Natsu pulled his face in a crooked grin, showing his canines. "Too late."

With that Gray started running.

* * *

He ran as fast as he could, away from the dark pressure Natsu was emitting. To his horror he could hear the pinkette running behind him. He slammed his fist against his palm while still running, preparing for an attack. He hoped he could stall the raging dragon slayer at least a bit so he could have a chance to escape. "Ice make: floor!"

The only thing that happened was a slight tingling feeling in his fingers, but no ice whatsoever. He tried again, but still no magic. Even when he focused all his attention to it, he felt that his magical pressure was nowhere near zero, but that the magic didn't want to come out. He focused back on it and tried to create another trap, but again no success. Another spike of fear gushed through his body now that he had lost one of the only ways to escape the raging slayer.

Luckily, the new adrenaline rush eased the pain in his side from all the running and gave him some new energy to keep on his breathtaking speed. He regretted he didn't take off his boots, since the weight of them was now holding him back. But the sound of the dragon slayer behind him spurred him on even more.

After running for what felt like hours, the sounds behind him died out. Gray took a quick look over his shoulder without slowing down his speed. He didn't see the pinkette anywhere, but also didn't want to take any risks so he ran a little longer before slumping down against a tree to try and catch his breath. Never in his life had he been this grateful that he was faster than his rival. He pressed his hand against the burning spot in his side, trying to ease the pain all the running had caused.

"Dammit". He hissed between his teeth as he thought about what kind of situation he was in. Never had he seen his teammate like that and never had he been so afraid of someone in his life. Somehow even the thought of Deliora didn't frighten him as much as now.

Gray pushed the thought aside, not needing another thing to feel bad about. He still couldn't comprehend what had actually happened and why he felt this confused and weak. He looked at the hand Natsu had touched and remembered the odd warm feeling that had spread through his entire body he could still feel now in the pit of his stomach.

He tried to rub away the vexatious warmth and pain in his stomach, but it didn't help much. When he had finally caught his breath he kicked off his boots annoyed, trying to prevent blisters. He wanted to get out of this forest and back to the guild as fast as possible, hoping the weird feelings would vanish and that Natsu would calm down and return to his own goofy self. The careless and denseness of the fire mage had annoyed Gray from the day he met him, but now he longed to see that personality again.

He let out a small sigh and just as he wanted to stand up, he heard twigs break not that far from him. He quickly slumped back down and pulled up his legs, making sure he was completely behind the tree he was sitting against. The ice mage took a deep breath before carefully peeking around the tree.

About 20 meters away he saw Natsu walking through the forest. His whole posture was alert and slightly hunched forward, like a predator hunting down his prey. And at the moment, that was the exact situation Gray was in.

He quickly sat back against the tree, making sure the dragon slayer wouldn't notice him. He desperately tried to be as quiet as possible, afraid the sensitive hearing of the pinkette might pick up on him. His heart beat liked crazy as another round of adrenaline shot through his veins. After some time the sound of footsteps started dying out. Gray took another careful peek around the tree and saw Natsu disappearing further into the forest.

For the first time since Natsu had lost it, Gray allowed himself to relax a bit and let out a silent relieved sigh, leaning his head back against the tree. When his heart rate finally calmed down he decided to try out his magic again.

The ice mage hoped it was just the stress that came with being on the run that caused his lack of magic even though his magic container wasn't near empty _. 'But stress has never been a problem before, more so it has been a huge magic boost most of the time._ ' A little pessimistic voice nagged in his head.

"Shut up." Gray cursed silently at the pessimistic thoughts. He took a deep breath and placed his fist against his left palm and put all his focus on creating his ice. He could feel his magic run through his body, into every cell, but other than a cold tingling sensation in his hands, nothing happened. Frustrated he slammed his hands together again.

Suddenly he felt a warm breeze tingling on his neck. Too late he realized what it actually was. A silent dark chuckle sounded right beside him, sending another stream of warmth over his skin, ironically making Gray freeze in his spot. Natsu's deep voice resonated.

"It's no use."

**End of chapter II**

* * *

 


	3. Devour

 

* * *

**Chapter III**

**Devour**

By Neko Erza

"It's no use."

Natsu whispered darkly. Gray snapped his head to the side, only to see the dragon slayer right beside him, gazing at him with eyes that looked thirsty for blood.

The ice mage desperately pushed himself to the side with his feet, trying to get away from the person that scared him to the bone. His attempt was futile though, as Natsu grabbed his hair and pulled him back. Gray squirmed in pain as he grabbed at his head, trying to pry the fire mage's hand off.

"Were you trying to hide from me, Gray?" Natsu laughed mockingly as he pulled the other mage away from the tree. "I hate to admit that you're more agile than me and your scent was pretty tough to follow in this chilly forest. But in the end it didn't really matter; I could hear your heartbeat from miles away."

Gray felt how the grip in his hair tightened. He shot his rival a imprecating look before trying to release himself from the painful position he was in.

"I don't plan to let you go, honey." Natsu whispered with a fake honed tone. His other hand snaked around the ice mage's throat, slowly squeezing it shut. Gray immediately let go of his head and started clawing at Natsu's hand as he felt the air slowly being squeezed out of his lungs. Somehow he couldn't get those hands off of him, no matter how much force he put into it.

"N-Natsu-..." Gray gurgled with the last bits of air he could find. His vision was slowly becoming blurry and he went light in the head. His lungs screamed for air as he desperately tried to breathe but Natsu's hand denied the access. He could feel all his strength slowly flow out his body, but nonetheless raised his hands in battle stance for one last desperate try.

He wasn't able to form words any longer but the dragon slayer recognized the gargling sounds as an attack. Gray slammed his fist against his left palm, but just like before nothing happened.

"Are you really an idiot?" Natsu sighed as he finally released the other's throat. The ice mage slumped to the ground, sucking in all the air his lungs could handle although he wasn't granted much rest since he was immediately slammed against the tree, his hands pinned above his head. The dragon slayer's face glowed with a sadistic smile. "I told you it's no use, didn't I?"

"H-How…" Gray hoarsely whispered. He tugged his hands but the pinkette's hand kept him firmly in place.

"Even though you refuse to believe you're my mate, there's no mistaking it. I suppose I haven't explained it yet though, but I'll show you my good heart and answer the question: Within dragon mating season the mate of a slayer is basically reduced to a helpless creature."

Gray growled annoyed at the comment and tugged at his hands again. Natsu just chuckled darkly and continued. "The fact you can't even pull your hands free is a perfect example. You can't use your strength or magic against me." The pinkette's hand put more pressure on the other's hands and slowly leaned in closer. " You did outrun me, but I never lost track off you. Your heartbeat gave you away. You probably thought you got rid of me earlier, didn't you? No, no, no, I just love to tease my prey." The pinkette slowly ran his tongue from Gray's neck up to his cheek.

"Let me go." The raven grumbled disgusted with a hoarse voice.

Suddenly, Natsu's knee shot up and made harsh contact with the ice mage's stomach. The air was pushed out of his lungs once again.

"You have to shut up. Denying me as your mate is the worst thing you've ever done. You're going to regret this for the rest of your life." Natsu released the raven's hands right before kicking him in the gut another time. Gray fell to the ground and curled up in pain, clutching his hands at the painful spots on his body.

"Oh right, not only your strength goes down, but also your resistance. Your body becomes more sensitive so things like this might get a bit more painful." Natsu said with a sweet voice that dripped with poison.

Fear spiked through the ice mage's body again as he heard that voice. The voice that was unmistakably his childhood rival's yet didn't belong to him. This wasn't the Natsu he knew any longer and Gray had no idea how to get the old him back… or if it was even possible to bring him back. That thought only added desperation to the intense fear. He didn't know where the feeling came from, he barely ever felt fear or desperation, but now it felt like it was already a part of his body.

His eyes searched for a way out but Natsu was standing right next to him. There was no way he could outrun the dragon slayer a second time, let alone in this condition. His lungs burned, he had trouble thinking straight and the two kicks Natsu dealt him even hold him back from just getting up.  
But the ice mage was stubborn. He wasn't planning to just lie around and wait for the dragon slayer to do more things to him. He didn't know what exactly the pinkette's plan was, but it sure as hell wasn't any good.

He tried crawling away, but of course was immediately stopped by Natsu. The slayer's foot slammed down on his back, right between his shoulder blades knocking the ice user back to the ground. The rough sole of his shoe scraped over the pale bare skin, causing a burning friction.

"Why are you doing this, Natsu?" He hissed between his teeth.

The slayer's eyes went big with disbelief. "Why?" The foot pressed a little harder on his back. "I confessed my love for you! There's nothing stronger than a mate's love and you just stabbed me in the back!"

"If there's someone being 'stabbed' in the back, I think it's me at the moment." Despite the fear, the ice mage couldn't suppress the urge to give a witty comeback.

"Do not get cocky on me." The dragon slayer said pissed off. He gave the ice mage another kick, this time hitting his side. The raven let out a loud scream as the pain spread through his body. He could swear he heard something crack.

"Don't- Don't do this, Natsu." He huffed in pain and the fear overtook him again. "I wasn't planning on hurting you. I just don't feel the same, I can't help that! This is something for slayers not creation mages!"

"You did hurt me! And I'm gonna make you regret it for the rest of your life."

Natsu's eyes burned with hate. Gray clenched his painful side harder in fear when the dragon slayer stepped closer to him. He tried to crawl away again, but the rough forest floor made hard to do so.

"N-No, Natsu… what are you plan-" The ice mage tried to ask but was interrupted by Natsu who stepped closer and closer.

"I want you to feel the same pain you made me feel when you said you didn't love me."

"N-No!" Gray yelled right before Natsu's foot kicked against his chin, making his head snap back. Before his back even hit the ground, everything had already slowly faded to black before his eyes…

* * *

When Gray finally regained consciousness he slowly opened his eyes, but the vision was so blurry he had to close them again. He had trouble remembering where he was or what had happened. He kept his eyes closed while trying to remember what was going on. He could taste blood on his tongue and his head hurt like hell. He suddenly became aware that his body was moving and that he was leaning against something firm, yet soft. When he finally opened his eyes he could see trees pass by. Still dazed, he turned his head and saw soft pink hair. Natsu was carrying him on his back through the forest, Gray's arms dangling over the other's shoulders.

"N-Natsu?" He asked dazed, wondering why his teammate would be carrying him.  _Did I lose a fight, maybe?_

The pink haired mage slightly turned his head and when Gray saw his eyes all the memories came back.

"You're awake? Sorry dear, beauty sleep ain't over yet." The slayer said before the ice mage could start panicking. He hit the raven's head against a nearby tree, making him black out again.

* * *

After another dreamless sleep Gray woke up once more. This time he had no problem remembering what happened. The taste of blood only had become more apparent and his head throbbed painful. He opened his eyes with a gasp and right before his eyes he saw the reason for his dire situation.

"Awake again? Great, don't want you to miss the fun part." Natsu said with a smug smile on his face.

Gray had trouble focusing his eyes and he was sure that if he weren't sitting he would fall to the ground. Even though the tree behind him kept him up, the bark made painful scratches in the naked flesh of his back. He looked up and saw his hands were bound above his head with a fishing line, which painfully cut into his flesh.

"Let me go." He whispered tiredly. "Haven't you had enough fun already?"

Natsu let out an empty, joyless laugh. "Fun? You ruining my life? You think that's fun?"

"This isn't you, Natsu!" Gray said. He and the fire mage never really got along, but he knew the flame brain did care for him, like he did in return. Doing something like this wasn't like Natsu and the fact that he seemed to have lost his mind worried Gray deeply. Natsu was treating him worse than he would ever do to his worst enemy, which could only mean the dragon slaying magic got the best of him. "Snap out of this whole mating-shit! It's not like you to succumb to something like that."

"Apparently you don't know me very well."

"What are you planning to do with me?" The ice mage asked, careful keeping an eye on every move the dragon slayer made. His whole posture just radiated danger and hostility. The predator had captured his prey. There was only one thing left to do: devour.

"Don't you listen?" The pinkette squatted before the raven, who turned his head to the side, avoiding the burning onyx eyes full of hate. "I want you to feel the same pain I felt or no…" He paused and grabbed Gray's chin. Pain shot through his cheek, remembering the kick against it he received earlier. The iron grip was merciless and pulled his gaze towards the slayer's. "No, I want you to feel even more pain."

"You're sick." Gray spit back, disgust dripping from his words. He should have known that it was a stupid thing to say, but his pride and stubbornness refused to give in to the fear just yet. But that stubbornness was rudely paid with Natsu's fist slamming into his stomach.

Gray tensed up from the pain, instinctively trying to pull his arms down, but the fishing line cut into his wrists painfully, keeping his arms firmly in place. Despite all the pain, he didn't let out a sound. He didn't want to give the slayer the satisfaction.

"You're so damn cocky, Gray." The pinkette shook his head, still squatting before the ice mage. "I wonder how long that's going to last. Now that you're awake, the fun can start."

Now it was Gray's turn to chuckle a joyless laugh, but winced when the action made his chest hurt. He looked down and saw a large bruised spot on his left side. The pain and look of it convinced him that his rib was broken. It also explained the painful breathing, but that was maybe also due to the choking from earlier. He looked down to the rest of his body and now that he looked closer, he was sure there were other scratches, bruises and wounds which weren't there before he passed out. His pants were ripped in some places, the edges stained with blood.  _Looks like he already started 'the fun' before I woke up._

"Are you going to kill me?" He asked, careful not to let the fear sound through in his words. He rested his head against his bound up arm, feeling tired.

"Don't want to spoil the surprise." Natsu answered with a wicked smile. He came closer again and yanked Gray's head back up by his raven hair.

"Come on, Natsu!" Gray huffed in a last attempt to reach the real Natsu. "You're really going through with this? If you wanted to scare me, you can stop! You won! I'm practically pissing my pants right now!"

"I know, I can smell the fear and adrenaline running through your veins."

"Then let me go."

"No!" Natsu pulled the raven locks even tighter. His face inched closer to Gray's, making it impossible to look away from the frightening onyx orbs. "I want to find out the deepest caverns of your fear."

For the second time that day a cold shiver went over the ice mage's body. He tried to make the distance between him and the dragon slayer bigger, but the tree pressed mercilessly against the back of his head.

Natsu came even closer, their noses almost touching. "I want to know just how much you can take before you crumble into pieces. Just how much fear, anxiety and despair you can take before you go insane."

**End of chapter III**

* * *

_So how did you like it? Next chapter will contain more torture and stuff. So prepare.. poor Gray._


	4. Justification

 

* * *

**Chapter IV**

**Justification**

By Neko Erza

"I want to know just how much you can take before you crumble into pieces. Just how much fear, anxiety and despair you can take before you go insane."

Gray's heart skipped a beat and without realizing it, he stopped breathing for a while. The tone of Natsu's voice and the look on his face left no room for a lie. The dragon slayer meant every word he said and wouldn't stop until he had reached his goal.

Only when Natsu released the grip on his hair and stepped away the ice mage finally remembered to breathe again. He filled his lungs to the brim, but the pain it caused to his broken rib made him break out in a coughing fit. His face crunched up in pain, the coughing only causing even more pressure and discomfort on the fractured bone.

"That face looks good on you. I can't wait to make you do it again." Natsu smiled. The ice mage could see the onyx eyes take in every detail of him, carving every last one of them into Natsu's mind, never to be forgotten again.

"Get those filthy eyes off my skin." Gray huffed, but Natsu just ignored the comment for the moment. Gray tried to sit up straighter against the tree, in attempt to spare his strained shoulders a bit by lifting off some of the weight. But every movement made the pain in his side flare up, making his face wry in pain again, so he gave up on his attempts for the time being, knowing that Natsu was sadistically enjoying his every sign of pain. He averted his gaze from the pinkette, feeling sick just to know that the man just wanted to see him suffer.

After a long silence the dragon slayer squatted back down before the ice mage and started talking. His voice sounded mockingly, a smug grin on his face. "Why aren't you looking at me, sweetheart? Too afraid?"

Defiant the raven looked up. Blue met onyx and a wry smile appeared on his face. "Too disgusted."

Natsu's hand clamped around Gray's throat again, banging his head against the tree. His other hand landed harshly on the broken rib. Gray tensed up from the pain, wondering why he couldn't just keep his mouth shut.

" _I_ 'm disgusting?" Natsu said with an unbelieving chuckle. "You just trampled on my heart. You don't care for any other than yourself, Gray Fullbuster."

"Yeah, beating someone up  _is_  caring for someone else." Gray said with a sarcastic tone. He knew it would be better if he just shut up, but his pride didn't let him. He wasn't one to give up and just be quiet while he was being trash-talked and he had to take advantage of the fact that his fear had calmed down for the moment.

There was something strange about that fear he had been feeling since the beginning because it wasn't like him to be stunned by it this much. He wondered if it was the doing of the magic that had Natsu in its grip. But now he just was glad it wasn't present.

Gray continued. "This is just to feed your selfish, disgusting ego."

Natsu fist landed hard on his stomach. Gray let a pained yell slip out, giving Natsu a satisfied smile. "With sound it's even more beautiful."

The fire mage placed his hand over the bruised spot on Gray's side, right over the broken rib. The ice mage inhaled sharply to prepare for the pain that was sure to come. The slayer's other hand grabbed his chin in an iron grip, forcing the raven to look into his eyes.

"That rib is in pretty bad shape. I guess I should take a look at it." The honey sweet voice of the pinkette sounded. His hand slowly pressed onto the shattered bone.

The pain shot through Gray's side, but he stubbornly tried to keep his voice in and his face neutral. Most of all he would want to avert his face so he could at least let some of the pain out, but the grip on his chin made sure that the dragonslayer saw every last movement.

"Hmm… it does feel pretty fucked up." Natsu said as if he was making a diagnosis and not making it worse. "I'd say it really snapped in half by the feel of it.

The raven could feel the pieces of the bone move as the dragon slayer added more pressure and after a while he couldn't hold in his pain any longer. His brow tensed and a pained moan escaped his lips, which gave Natsu another satisfied smile.

A low growl came from the slayer's throat, "Hmmm… make that sound again."

Gray looked at him surprised. The expression on the pinkette's changed somewhat, but for some reason this one gave him an even more uneasy feeling. Apart from hatred the onyx eyes were now also filled with another emotion.

Suddenly the fire mage pushed hard against the broken rib and Gray could feel the broken pieces push into his flesh. Another whimper crawled out of the ice mages throat.

The eyes of the dragon slayer lit up at hearing the badly suppressed pain. His voice became deeper and there was a slight purr in his words. "Hmmm… Yes, that sound."

"What…" Gray asked confused but was interrupted when Natsu's lips pressed against his. The ice mage's eyes went big with shock and tried to pull away. He could feel the slayer press against the fracture rib again, while running his scorching hot tongue over his cold lips. When the tongue forcefully tried to invade his mouth, Gray panicked and bit down hard.

The pinkette let out a pained grunt and pulled away from the unwelcoming lips. "You filthy bitch!" He yelled furious. And once more his knee made harsh contact with Gray's stomach while his fist connected to the already sore chin.

Gray could feel his lip split open and somewhere in the back of his mouth a tooth chipped. Blood spat out of his mouth and his vision blurred for a few seconds. Just how many times had he already been hit on the head that day? That just couldn't be good.

The ice mage groggily tried to look up as blood continued to drip from his mouth down onto his chest. He could feel some run over his upper lip too, which of course couldn't be from his cracked lip. ' _Great, bloody nose too…'_ He thought bitterly.  
The raven looked up at the dragon slayer and saw that the expression, which turned out to have been lust, had ebbed away and was fully replaced by rage again.

"Why…" Gray flinched as a sting of pain went through his abused lips and his painful chest, but decided to bite away the pain. Somewhat ragged he continued. "Why did you… kiss me? First you- you beat me up and then… you suddenly kiss me?"

The pink haired mage's expression didn't change and he didn't answer the question either. He harshly grabbed the raven locks and pulled the ice mage's pale face up to his.

' _Guess that was just a remnant of the passion from before.'_  The ice mage deducted when he didn't get an answer to his question. ' _The kiss had only been what little was left from the desire from when Natsu claimed me as his mate.'_

Gray focused his attention back on the slayer, forgetting what seemed pointless questions. When he looked at the tense face of the pinkette he saw a small line of blood drip down from a tear in the slayer's lip. The raven couldn't help but feel a bit smug by the fact that he broke that piece of skin. But then he remembered how he himself must look like at the moment and the little happy moment vanished like snow in the sun.

The grip on Gray's locks tightened and ordered him to look into the onyx orbs. Now that the ice mage thought about it, he didn't remember Natsu's eyes being this dark. He had peered into those orbs often enough during their showdowns to know they normally had a soft olive green color to them, not just this frightening empty black.

"Don't EVER dare to do that again." The dragonslayer said with a voice that couldn't stand contradiction. He licked the bit of blood from his lips, leaving only the small chap as evidence that Gray fought back.

' _Pathetic._ ' The raven thought when he realized he actually had been fighting back the whole time and the only thing he had managed to do were those few droplets of blood. It couldn't match in the slightest with the choking, broken rib, bruises, bloody mouth and nose he had received.

"Let me go." Gray said not wanting to continue about the kiss before he choked on some blood, giving him a coughing fit.

"Why would I let go of my play thing?" The dragon slayer shrugged casually as if he were talking about a toy. The fact that Natsu thought about him as nothing more than a mere object infuriated him. It only dented his pride even more than it already was.

The dragon slayer was still squatted in front of him, his face only a few centimeters away. Even though the ice mage knew it was a bad idea, he refused to give up; as soon as the pinkette released his hair, the raven's head shot forward, crashing hard against his.  
His strength might be reduced to almost nothing; an unexpected headbutt was never completely fruitless. The dragon slayer lost his balance and fell backwards, onto the forest floor and while he lay there dazed for a second, Gray gave a kick against his temple. The ice mage regretted that he had taken off his boots before, since his bare foot did close to nothing.

The fire mage crawled back onto his feet, little flames emitting from his body. The ice mage cursed his own stubbornness again, but then again the slayer wouldn't go that much easier on him even if he were quiet and still. If he had to go down, he would rather go down fighting. Every last bit of will, power and hope would have to get sucked out of him before giving up and just lying there waiting to get beaten and humiliated. And for the moment the fear had vanished, giving him the chance to fight back.

Natsu angry eyes were locked on Gray as he was back on his feet. The raven knew what was about to come. Before the slayer moved towards him, he bent down and picked up a rock. Gray rested his head against his bound up arm again and a small smile appeared around his lips before chuckling. "Well, fuck me…"

Then the rock hit his temple and for the third time already his world went black.

* * *

 

Lucy and Levi sat at the guild bar sipping their drinks and discussing a book they had both just finished. It had been a long time since they last had the chance to do so since every time they tried, it was sure that they would get interrupted by the usual brawling of the energetic Fairy Tail members. And inviting Levi over to her apartment wasn't without risk either. Natsu or Gray would only show up uninvited anyway.

But this was one of the first times that the celestial spirit mage was at the guild and the two troublemakers weren't. She never went on missions without them and if she didn't go along, it seemed like at least one of them was always around the guild. But the raven and pinkette took off together that morning and it was already starting to get dark, which meant almost a whole day of peace.

But as Lucy should have known, even without Natsu and Gray, there were still more than enough brawlers and today wasn't going to be an exception as it seemed. The two girls looked up as there sounded an annoyed yell from the other side of the bar.

"I can't believe this!" Evergreen shouted as she clenched her fists. Before her stood the other two Raijinshu, Freed trying to sooth the angry woman and Bixlow grinning at the matter. Behind the two men stood Laxus, who also had an annoyed expression on his face. The female glared at the blonde man.

"I'm not arguing about this: you're staying home!" The lightning mage growled at the woman. He turned around without giving her a second look and marched towards the guild doors.

"And why not?" The brunette asked as she tried to follow him, but she was stopped by Bixlow's soul dolls. "Bixlow, let me through!"

"Not happening, Ever. It's a guys only trip." The soul mage lolled his tongue as he laughed.

"If Laxus says you're not coming, then you're not coming. And I'm on his side with this one." Freed said with a strict voice. A few guild members rolled their eyes, knowing the runes mage would never oppose his idol, however stupid the request might be.

"Just take her with you, Laxus. Now WE have to listen to her wailing and complaining while you guys are on the mission." Cana slurred as she put her barrel down.

The lightning dragon slayer marched passed the drunken mage without saying anything back or even acknowledging her. Only when the card mage reached her hand out to grab him by his coat, he dodged the gesture. Then he passed by Lucy and Levi on his way out of the guild, not paying attention to any of the members for that matter. He didn't even say something to Mirajane while he pulled the heavy doors open.

"You two, are you coming or what?" He shouted towards his two male companions.

The green haired male shook his head a last time at Evergreen before turning around and toddling after the blonde. The seith mage grinned widely at his female teammate, getting an annoyed look back from her. He burst out laughing. "Bye, bye Ever. Be a good girl and stay down." He teased before running after the other Raijinshu.

Evergreen let out a yell and threw a glass at the masked man before slumping down in her chair again.

"What's up with all the guys leaving behind the girls?" Levi huffed when the three men closed the doors. The little bluenette was obviously still angry about the fact that Gajeel didn't take her with him on his trip.

Lucy laughed. "I have no idea, who knows what's up with them. First Gajeel then Gray and Natsu and now Laxus, Bixlow and Freed. You'd almost think it's some kind of magic, wouldn't you?"

The blonde asked with a smile, unable to see the link between all the cases.

* * *

 

Natsu's back hit the ground as Gray headbutted him. As soon as he was down there the ice mage's foot kicked against his head, although it didn't have enough power to really hurt the slayer.

The acid rage surged harder through his veins and if his blood wasn't already boiling it sure as hell was now. The ice mage wasn't supposed to fight back. He had already done enough damage to him and now it was the dragon slayer's turn to be the one that did the damaging.

The pinkette crawled back on his feet, unable to keep the flames lighting up from his body. He looked at the ice mage who sat against the tree, arms up above his head. He was utterly defenseless and yet he dared to fight back. That cocky attitude annoyed the hell out of Natsu and he wanted nothing more than to break it.

Natsu's eye landed on a large rock on the ground and he bent down to pick it up. The ice mage let out a ragged sigh and rested his head against his arm, knowing he couldn't resist even if he tried. And as if to annoy the dragon slayer even more the icy bastard dared to smile and chuckle.

"Well, fuck me…" The words escaped the raven's lips. Natsu felt it was defying him to a point it was humiliating, that the ice mage knew he was going to get beaten but was prepared for it and wasn't showing any fear. The words reflected that Gray accepted the punishment that was about to come and that the headbutt was all worth it too. The slayer longed to see and smell the fear he sensed before again, yet the raven didn't grant him that. Instead he mocked him.

The slayer clutched his fingers harder around the rock and stepped towards the ice mage. He raised his arm and hit the hard object against the bloodied face.

The raven's head was slammed to the side and the impact knocked him unconscious. The tired eyes of the ice mage closed as his mind slipped back into the dark.

The sharp edges of the rock scraped against the ice mage's skin and split it open. His veins pumped the blood out of the gaping wound and tainted the pale skin even more.

Natsu looked at the unconscious mage and the miserable state he was in: The blood dripped out of the cut over his eye down his face where it mixed with the blood from his nose and mouth. The sight gave the slayer an overwhelming satisfaction yet also a pained feeling.

_Why couldn't you just love me?_

The question played over and over in Natsu's head. It was the one question that made this situation come into motion and the one question that launched the slayer into this darkness. It was all the fault of Gray.

He should have said yes.

But instead he denied the purest love that could ever exist in this world: the love of a true mate. The kind of love that couldn't be affected by the means of gender, age, or the past between two people and yet the ice mage had to defy that purity too.

It couldn't be any other's fault than the raven ice mage's.

He deserved every sting of pain and every drop of lost blood. He deserved the kick against his chin when he first found the ice mage, he deserved to be bound up against the tree and the fishing line slicing into his flesh. He deserved the rock that split open his head. All the pain was deserved. Gray couldn't just turn the pinkette down without expecting any consequences.

A dragon's mate wasn't supposed to say no and in the nearly inexistent chance that he did, he should just accept all of what was bound to follow.

Or at least that was the justification in Natsu's troubled head.

**End of chapter IV**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was it!
> 
> I wanted to make clear Gray is not to blame for the whole thing, in case someone had the impression. Neither is really to blame actually; Gray can't force feelings he doesn't have and Natsu is submitted to his own magic. That's why I made part of this chapter with double point of view so it doesn't create some sort of side.
> 
> Let me know what you think, good or bad. Constructive critics are always helpful and positive feedback is always nice to read. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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